Chapter 456: She Looked Even More Lively (1/2)

I thought it was a high-class French restaurant, but it turned out that this place was serving rather unusual Chinese cuisine. The first item, pork feet, was quite tasty but…… Eating pork feet with a knife and fork somehow feels a bit strange to me.

If this was going to be a full course of Chinese cuisines, would the next meal brought to us be salad?

[This feels like a full course, isn't it?]

[Yes, it does. There were no amuse-bouches, and they started with hors d'oeuvres, so I guess the next meal served would be salad?]

(T/N: Amuse-bouche is a small complimentary appetizer. A mouth amuser.)

[……Aoi-senpai, what's amuse-bouche?]

[Let's see. I guess it's like the ”tsukidashi” in pubs.]

[……I haven't even experienced going inside a pub though.]

In comparison to Aoi-chan's familiarity with the subject, Hina-chan and I were noticeably lacking in knowledge. Or rather, I'm glad that I'm sitting on the same table as Aoi-chan.

Right at that moment, a colorful salad was brought to us, to which we ate as we continued our conversation.

[Hina-chan, tsukidashis are dishes that can be eaten in a single bite, and are usually served before you ordered.]

[Heehhh~~ As expected of Kaito-senpai, you have the knowledge of the adult world~~!]

[No, I don't know much about it either…… Aoi-chan, after the salad would be soup, right?]

[Yes, if it's the usual French restaurant, that would be the case. There's a chance that bread might also be served first. After that, it depends whether the plat is poisson or viande, or perhaps, even both. If it's just one of them, I think granité will come out next.]

[……Sorry, I have no idea what you were saying.]

Just from what Aoi-chan said, I found about four words I didn't know. Hmmm. Eating full course meals feels kind of difficult and intimidating.

[The word ”plat” refers to the main dish. Most of the time, it's categorized between poisson…… fish dishes and viande…… meat dishes. However, this varies a lot from restaurant to restaurant. If the main dish is raw though, it may be categorized as an entrée instead. And then, granité is a palate-cleansing semi-frozen dessert. Depending on how many plat they serve, the timing of order may change.]

[I- I see…..]

[However, since this restaurant is Chinese style, it may be that instead of bread, they would serve dim sum…… shumai. There's a chance that a dish like that would be served next. If that's the case, no granité may be served.]

[A- Aoi-chan, that's amazing…… Do you often eat full course meals?]

As I continued to ask questions to Aoi-chan, who carefully explained things…… the answer came back from a different person.

[Aoi-senpai is the noble lady of the Kusunoki group after all~~]

[Hey, Hina-chan……]

[Kusunoki group…… You mean that company whose advertisements often appear on TV and other stuff?]

[……It's just a slightly big company.]

No, no, even I know the name of the Kusunoki group. It's one of the biggest companies in Japan, with a wide range of businesses including cosmetics, clothing and even IT.

For Aoi-chan to be the noble lady of that company…… The idea never really occurred to me even if they share the same surname.

[Aren't you the ”granddaughter of a congressman”, Hina-chan?]

[Really!?]